Saints Devastate Panthers With Brilliant Special Teams Play

New Orleans not only dominated offensively and defensively against the Panthers, but also in another often overlooked phase of the game.

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) runs a punt back against the Carolina Panthers / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

An often overlooked aspect of most football games at any level is special teams. It's a part of the game where the New Orleans Saints have taken great pride for quite some time.

Special teams can be the difference between a win or a loss. Not just in a last-second field goal situation, but also field position and swings in momentum during the course of any game.

Recognizing this, the Saints have arguably the league's top special teams coach in Darren Rizzi. With the team since 2019, Rizzi is respected throughout the NFL and has gotten some head coaching consideration. Rizzi, 54, is one of the members responsible for the new kickoff rules that the NFL has implemented this year.

New Orleans was dominant both offensively and defensively in Sunday's 47-10 thrashing of the Carolina Panthers. What was lost in the resounding victory was the major role that special teams played.

Kicking

New Orleans Saints place kicker Blake Grupe (19) adds an extra point against the Carolina Panthers / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Second-year kicker Blake Grupe was flawless against the Panthers. Grupe was perfect on all five extra point attempts and each of his four field goal tries. Three of those field goals were from beyond 40 yards with two longer than 50 yards. His second quarter conversion of a 57-yard field goal was the longest of his short career.

Grupe was also outstanding on kickoff placement. With the new rules, it's relatively easy for an opponent to start at their 35-yard line or beyond. Of Carolina's 10 possessions that started with a Grupe kickoff, only one was beyond their 30 with two starting inside their 25.

The jury is still out on first-year punter Matthew Hayball. New Orleans scored on their first nine possessions and didn't even need to punt until 4:37 left in the game. Hayball had a 36.5 yard average on his two punts.

While their punting is still unproven, Grupe gives the Saints an important long distance scoring range. He also gives the team a vital advantage in the field position battle.

Kick Coverage

New Orleans Saints safety J.T. Gray (48) prepares for a kickoff return / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Grupe's kickoff accuracy was impressive, but he was helped by one of the best coverage units in the league. The Saints have always put an emphasis on athleticism and discipline on the kick and punt coverage units. It's paid dividends, as New Orleans is often near the top of the NFL in both categories.

Neither of Hayball's punts were returned on Sunday. However, the Saints did a terrific job at bottling up Carolina kick returners Raheem Blackshear and dynamic rookie Xavier Legette. As usual, special teams ace J.T. Gray was in the middle of the action. Backup LB Anfernee Orji and others are also quickly making a name for themselves with suffocating kick coverage.

Darren Rizzi clearly went into this game against the Panthers confident that his unit would give the Saints a field position advantage. Grupe's placement played a big part in the strategy, but it wouldn't have been possible without the New Orleans defenders descending quickly on Carolina's returners and not allowing open running lanes.

Rashid Shaheed

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) returns a punt against the Carolina Panthers / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Shaheed is one of the NFL's most feared returners. His explosiveness not only makes him a scoring threat, but also alters field position and the kicking strategy of opponents. Those abilities earned him All-Pro honors last season.

On the opening kickoff of Sunday's game, Shaheed nearly broke off a big gain. His 33-yard return was brought back by penalty, but the tone was set. The Panthers tried to punt away from him all afternoon. Shaheed showed why when he returned a second quarter punt 47 yards to give his offense a short field for an easy touchdown drive.

Even RB Jamaal Williams got in on the action with an impressive 32-yard kickoff return in the second half. Rizzi can counter opposing kickoff strategies of stearing clear of Shaheed by using Williams or explosive threats like Mason Tipton, Cedrick Wilson, Jordan Mims, or even Taysom Hill as a second returner.

It takes more than a game-breaking return threat. Shaheed has also benefited from great blocking by the return units. Rizzi and the Saints players have fully bought into this philosophy.

Special Forces Mentality

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson (83) blocks a punt against the Carolina Panthers / neworleanssaints.com

It's fairly rare to see NFL teams use their starters on special teams. Even outside of Shaheed, this is not the case with New Orleans. Willie Gay, Will Harris, and Jordan Howden all play sizeable defensive roles, but saw significant snaps on special teams against the Panthers.

Tight end Juwan Johnson blocked a fourth quarter Carolina punt that set up the final New Orleans score. Taysom Hill got his start on special teams, but is still often in on kick coverage or punt block units. Even Alvin Kamara was used as a kickoff and punt returner occasionally over the first five years of his career.

Darren Rizzi has installed an almost 'Special Forces' mentality to the New Orleans Saints special teams. The players have not only bought in, but it's been an infectious mentality that's spread to incoming rookies and veterans alike. It's a unit that played a big role in the blowout of Carolina and could be the difference between a win or a loss in some key games this season.